Worked Example Fading

Plan a stepwise fade from fully worked examples to independent solutions.

Description

Worked-example fading can remove one provided solution step per practice problem.

Worked-example fading can remove one provided solution step per practice problem. The resulting plan distinguishes scaffolded problems from problems with no provided steps.^[1]

Plan a stepwise fade from fully worked examples to independent solutions.

When to use Worked Example Fading

Use this tool to plan a stepwise fade from fully worked examples to independent solutions.

Prepare the lesson timeline, roster, observations or assessment labels requested. Use consistent units and exact identifiers, then choose comparison criteria appropriate to the activity.

How to use Worked Example Fading and understand its results

Prepare the lesson timeline, roster, observations or assessment labels requested. Use consistent units and exact identifiers, then choose comparison criteria appropriate to the activity.
Enter solutionSteps, practiceProblems using the field table and calculation rules, then run the tool.
Read providedStepCounts, independentProblemCount. The explanation below defines the units, signs, ordering and any flags or placeholder values.
If the tool reports an input issue, correct the values and run it again. Apply the stated assumptions when interpreting a successfully returned result.

Input field	Meaning	Value type; see rules below	Requirement
solutionSteps	Solution steps	number	Required
practiceProblems	Practice problems	number	Required

Enter positive safe-integer step and problem counts. Return one provided-step count per problem, starting fully worked, and the number of zero-step problems.

provided_i=max(0,solutionSteps−i), zero-based problem i

Units, indexing, boundary conditions and exceptional cases are defined in the calculation rules above.

Output field	Meaning	Value type
providedStepCounts	Provided step counts	list of number
independentProblemCount	Independent problem count	number

json

{
  "input": {
    "solutionSteps": 4,
    "practiceProblems": 5
  },
  "output": {
    "providedStepCounts": [
      4,
      3,
      2,
      1,
      0
    ],
    "independentProblemCount": 1
  }
}

Limitations and assumptions

The schedule is fixed rather than responsive to performance. Problem counts allocate output directly; use a bounded count. Step difficulty and solution text are not considered.

Numeric inputs must be finite. Follow the calculation-specific rules for overflow, underflow and exceptional cases. Missing required fields, extra fields, wrong value types and violations of the calculation rules are input errors.

Alternative or Complementary methods

Use Completion Problem Transition: Gate a completion-problem fade by observed student success. For a complementary task, use Retrieval Practice Gate: Schedule the next retrieval test from observed recall and a mastery gate.

References

Worked Example Fading — tool.io

Similar or alternative tools

Completion Problem Transition
Gate a completion-problem fade by observed student success.
Retrieval Practice Gate
Schedule the next retrieval test from observed recall and a mastery gate.